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May 26, 2014

AskPatty Remembers Our Women in the Military

Today at AskPatty, we remember the women service members who have taken on a variety of roles and have risen through the ranks in our nation’s military. Wives, mothers, sisters, daughters: At the foundation of our nation’s history with the American Revolution and continuing to the present, women have always volunteered in defense of our nation.

From 1942-1945, while men fought in the battlefront of World War II, more 18 million women filled the civilian and defense positions created is the country's shift to wartime productions.

Scores of women have served honorably in a variety of occupations, but most importantly, we made history when The Pentagon lifted its ban on women in front-line combat roles. In January, 2013, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, signed an order at a Pentagon news conference rescinding the rule that prevented women from serving in direct combat jobs.

"They serve, they're wounded, and they die right next to each other. The time has come to recognize that reality," Panetta said at the conference, noting that 152 women in uniform had been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May to commemorate the men and women who died while in the military service. For many, it is a somber celebration, when people visit cemeteries and memorials to pay honor to those who died in military service, and volunteers often place American flags on each grave site at national cemeteries.